Galvatron is a name adopted by several fictional characters in the Transformers franchise. He is usually the recreated form of Megatron, the Decepticon leader; however, it has been used for separate and unrelated characters, most notably the main villain of the anime series Beast Wars II (who was not a former Megatron, but instead an unrelated Predacon), and the character from the more recent IDW Publishing G1 series (in which he was an ancient Cybertronian from the Dead Universe).

Powerful and intelligent, although with questionable sanity, Galvatron's primary weapon is his particle accelerator cannon, mounted on his right arm, which can fire blasts of assorted types, including electrochemical energy and particle beams. He transforms into a futuristic laser-cannon emplacement (similar to a Howitzer) and can, on rare occasions, assume the form of a laser pistol, shrinking as he does so to allow other beings to wield him (an ability never used in the animated series, although it was occasionally used in the UK comic series).[1]

Galvatron's toy tech spec identified him as a city commander, much like the Autobot toy Ultra Magnus. The bio fails to indicate whether or not he is a recreated Megatron, instead mentioning that he is both "determined to lead the Decepticons" and that he "plots against his allies".

Galvatron in the cartoon has shown to be more violent to his subordinates than his past self Megatron. Throwing them aside, kicking them while they're down, even going as far as attack both the Autobots and his own Deceptions out of blind rage—all while spewing venomous insults and death threats.

Galvatron makes his debut in The Transformers: The Movie. On the Decepticons' return journey to Cybertron following their attack on Autobot City in the Earth year 2005, a mortally wounded, but still functional Megatron was jettisoned into space along with several other fallen Decepticons in order to reduce Astrotrain's mass to reach Cybertron. The end seemed to be near for Megatron—but it was not to be, as he was summoned by Unicron, who made him an offer - in return for Megatron's service, he would give him a new body and new troops to command. Facing destruction as an alternative, Megatron agreed to Unicron's offer, and was reformatted into a new, more powerful body, rechristening himself as Galvatron. Commanded by Unicron to destroy the Matrix of Leadership, Galvatron first returned to Cybertron to settle a score with Starscream, who had set him adrift in space and was now being crowned as the new Decepticon leader in a pompous ceremony. Demonstrating his new power, Galvatron obliterated Starscream with a single blast from his new cannon mode. The other Decepticons quickly accepted Galvatron as their leader. Unicron's subsequent consumption of Cybertron's moons enraged Galvatron, but when Unicron mentally tortured him to put him in his place, Galvatron submitted. Leading another attack on Autobot City, he pursued Ultra Magnus and the Autobots to the Planet of Junk, where he seized the Matrix from Ultra Magnus, and attempted to use its power against Unicron. Unable to open the Matrix, Galvatron was powerless as Unicron transformed and attacked Cybertron with his bare hands. Unicron swallowed Galvatron in contempt, while swatting away Cybertron's Decepticon defenders like flies. Shortly thereafter, a group of Autobots entered Unicron's body, where the youthful Hot Rod encountered the humiliated Decepticon leader. Although Galvatron initially proposed an alliance with the Autobot against Unicron, he was once again tortured mentally by Unicron, who tells him to destroy Hot Rod otherwise Galvatron himself will be obliterated. Galvatron weakly agrees, still accepting Unicron as his master, and then engaged Hot Rod in battle. Galvatron quickly attained the upper hand over the smaller Autobot. However, when Hot Rod seized the Matrix from Galvatron, he was reformatted into the much larger and more powerful Rodimus Prime. Rodimus easily defeated Galvatron and hurled him through Unicron's armor and into the void of space, before unleashing the power of the Matrix and destroying Unicron.

Now leaderless and forced off Cybertron by the Autobots, the Decepticons retreated to the ruined world of Chaar, where they bickered and fought amongst each other over their limited energon resources. Galvatron's Unicron-created lieutenants, Cyclonus and Scourge, set out to find their leader. Using the information stored in Unicron's memory banks, they traced Galvatron to the planet Thrull. They found him immersed in a pool of lava-like plasma, and rescued him only to discover that the plasma had seeped into Galvatron's head casing and the heat had permanently damaged his "metaprocessor", causing him to go irreversibly insane.

When the Hate Plague began to sweep the universe, Galvatron was able to avoid infection initially, teaming up with the resurrected Optimus Prime in order to recover a protective alloy that would shield the user from the plague's effects. Somewhat ironically, when Galvatron first saw the effects of the Plague at the Morgans' lab, he uttered that the infected Autobots and some of his fellow Decepticons had "all gone mad," and that said lab with the infected Transformers was no place for him. However, he became infected in the process of recovering the alloy, but was eventually cured along with all the other victims of the plague when Optimus Prime unleashed the power of the Matrix. It also seemed that Galvatron may have actually been cured of his own inherent insanity, as he refused to continue the conflict there and then, and shook Prime's hand, saying that he had earned his respect.

A year later, however, in 2007, the short truce ended as Galvatron formulated a new plan. Although appearing quite coherent throughout the scheme, it was truly his most insane yet - rejecting notions of conquest, Galvatron now sought the utter destruction of both Cybertron and Earth. To this end, he dispatched his troops to Cybertron, in order to recover the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber. Failing to do so, a plasma energy explosion sent the Autobots—possessing the key—and his Decepticons to the planet Nebulos. While the Cyclonus-led Decepticons sought to reclaim the key and return to Cybertron, he led the main attack force on Cybertron. Victorious on Cybertron, Galvatron had a colossal rocket engine constructed on the planet's surface, which propelled Cybertron into Earth's orbit (for the second time during the Transformers television series). His troops soon returned from Nebulos with the key, but in their absence, they had become binary-bonded to the planet's organic inhabitants as Headmasters and Targetmasters - a union which Galvatron thoroughly objected to, threatening to destroy the Nebulons immediately. Nebulon leader Lord Zarak, however, was able to stay Galvatron's hand, as he now possessed the Plasma Energy Chamber key. Galvatron then used the key to open the chamber, releasing the energy with the intent of driving the Earth's sun supernova, destroying both planets. Galvatron and the other Decepticons then attempted to flee inside Scorponok, but a tendril of plasma energy struck the giant craft, sending the Decepticons hurtling off into deep space. Spike Witwicky and the Autobot-allied Nebulons were subsequently able to foil Galvatron's scheme and use the excess solar energy to re-energise Cybertron, restoring its Golden Age, but Galvatron was not finished yet, and began his plans for the future, proclaiming that the Decepticons would build a more powerful planet and use it to rule the galaxy. However, as this was the end of the American cartoon series, Galvatron's future plans never came to light.

While the American series ended with the three-part miniseries, The Rebirth, featuring Galvatron's scheme with the Plasma Energy Chamber, it was decided in Japan to continue the series in a different direction. Disregarding the events of The Rebirth, they began to produce a collection of animated series exclusive to Japan, the first of which was Transformers: The Headmasters, taking place a year after the Hate Plague incident from The Return of Optimus Prime. Of all the previously seen Transformers to appear in Headmasters, Galvatron received the most attention, effectively remaining as the Decepticons' leader for 26 out the series 35 episodes.

Galvatron did not make any appearances in the 1990s Beast Wars animated series, but was briefly mentioned in the episode Possession or the video Warning From Space, in which the ghost of Starscream spun a lie that he had been killed by Unicron while defending him, only to have Blackarachnia reveal the truth.

Although Starscream appeared to recognize Galvatron as an enhanced version of Megatron in the movie, the third season of the series did not definitively explain whether or not either the Autobots (aside from possibly Optimus Prime due to his time in the Matrix, which was twice in Galvatron's possession) or the Decepticons were actually aware of the fact that Galvatron was once Megatron. Galvatron introduced himself to Ultra Magnus and the Autobots during The Transformers: The Movie as though he was a completely new entity, claiming he would crush Magnus "just as Megatron crushed Prime." While returning fire during Galvatron's attack Ultra Magnus retorted to Galvatron's statement with the comment: "And you'll die trying, just like Megatron!" This appeared to present the idea that the Autobots believed Megatron had perished, only to be replaced by what appeared to be a far more powerful foe. However, Optimus appeared to insinuate during The Return of Optimus Prime that he was aware of Galvatron's former identity as his long-time foe, claiming he "knew [Galvatron] too well" when the two were forced into an uneasy alliance when trying to recover an artificially developed heat and radiation resistant alloy needed by Optimus in order to find a cure for the Hate Plague.

There was also some confusion in the series as to whether or not the Deceptions aside from Starscream— who appeared to recognize him despite the changes Unicron had made to his physical form— were aware of Galvatron being Megatron, though it had been hinted that Astrotrain may have been aware of it during the first episode of the five part season three premiere Five Faces of Darkness as the Triple-Changer initially speaks of the power the Decepticons held before Unicron's attack on Cybertron, which Megatron had come to rule sometime prior to the events of the feature film. Cyclonus is quick to correct Astrotrain on the matter claiming that he should be speaking of Galvatron, to which Astrotrain responds by saying; "Well, they were the same guy". Despite this seemingly straightforward statement, there exists a statue of Megatron, which can be seen in the Decepticon crypt located on Cybertron, seemingly as a marking for a grave, during the episode Starscream's Ghost. This left the question of whether or not the Decepticons were aware of their leader's former identity somewhat ambiguous, and the matter was largely ignored as far as both factions were concerned until the aforementioned hinting that Optimus was possibly aware of the truth in The Return of Optimus Prime.

Note: Stories from the U.K. Marvel Transformers series are in italics. Galvatron's appearance in the Marvel Comics' Transformers series, would take a more drastic turn than his animated counterpart. Through the plot-device, it is hard to tell weither Galvatron is in fact one character or several, and even weither or not they're reformatted versions of Megatron, the Straxus-Megatron clone, or an original creation of Unicron. In fact, it's possible that Marvel has introduced up to six different Galvatron characters hailing from different alternate futures. The only distinction that has been made is between a certain version of Galvatron, named Galvatron II, hailing from a future timeline where Unicron succeeds in consuming Cybertron, and Galvatron I, the original one introduced.

Galvatron debuted in the story entitled Target: 2006, Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge travel back in time from a point during the events of the movie adaptation itself. Desiring to be free of Unicron's controlling influence, Galvatron incapacitated the present-day Megatron and had the Constructicons assemble a colossal weapon, which would destroy Unicron once was fired in the future. This plan was thwarted by the present-day Ultra Magnus and three future Autobots Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr who convinced Galvatron that he had actually travelled back in time to a parallel universe, forcing him to return to the future.

Galvatron returned to the original future, living out the rest of the events of Transformers: The Movie. However, things quickly diverged from the animated series' telling of events when, after being hurled out of Unicron by Rodimus Prime, Galvatron triggered his time-jump mechanism once more, hurling himself back to 1987, where he materialised above Earth's atmosphere, and hurtled toward the planet at terminal velocity. His explosive landing drew the attention of the piloted mechanoid, Centurion, who Galvatron - his mind addled from the crash to the brink of madness - promptly destroyed, believing him to be Rodimus Prime. After a moment to collect his thoughts, Galvatron fought the madness down, until he wound up in a battle with a group of Autobots led by Blaster, and the Dinobots. During the fight, a sonic attack from Blaster unhinged his fragile mind, opening a doorway to insanity that would steadily widen over time. Despite this, Galvatron overpowered the Autobots and Dinobots and would have triumphed had it not been for Shockwave and his Decepticons, who viewed Galvatron as a threat to Shockwave's leadership.

Galvatron's absence in the original future led Rodimus Prime to place a bounty on his head. This was picked up by Death's Head, who pursued Galvatron back through time. Fearful of what he had unleashed on the past, Rodimus travelled back with Kup and Blurr to stop Death's Head, only to wind up in a four-way confrontation between themselves, Death's Head, Galvatron and the present-day Ultra Magnus, as Galvatron attempted to siphon the power of Earth's core through a volcano to increase his power even further. Rodimus's team and Death's Head were returned to the future in the course of the battle, while Ultra Magnus and Galvatron were lost beneath tons of lava when the volcano erupted.

Eventually, Galvatron was able to free himself, and continued with his plans for the future by disrupting Shockwave's leadership of the Decepticons. He was also later confronted by Cyclonus and Scourge, who had been shunted back in time, circumventing the normal mass-displacement procedures, and wanted his time-jump mechanism so they could return to the future and their position as Decepticon leaders.

Shockwave later recovered what he believed was the missing Megatron (but which was actually a clone), brainwashed him, then unleashed him on Scourge and Cyclonus after the latter revealed that they would be responsible for Shockwave's death in the future. This led to Cyclonus's death, causing further disruption to the timeline. "Megatron" was then loosed on Galvatron, but rather than destroy him, he saw a possible partner in him, and the duo teamed up to battle the combined forces of Autobots and Decepticons from the present and the future as a rift in the fabric of spacetime threatened to destroy reality. With his own actions in the present altering the events that Galvatron remembered from his past, his remaining sanity crumbled. As the rift arrived, Galvatron stood before it and defied it... only for his body to be swept up, and utterly destroyed.

In the year 2356 of an alternate future, a geriatric Rodimus Prime recounted tales of his exploits to a curious youth from his deathbed. In that timeline, the Time Wars had reset history: now the newly-created Galvatron hadn't time-traveled to 1987 Earth, and instead had remained in the 21st-century and conquered Cybertron. This "reset" Galvatron tried to enrage Rodimus—even going so far as throwing Blurr's severed head at him—so that the Autobot leader's vengeful thoughts would corrupt the Matrix itself. This Galvatron was last seen in a flashback to Unicron's third coming in the year 2010 (of that timeline): as Galvatron was left buried under rubble and Transformer corpses, Rodimus noted that on this occasion Unicron had no need for minions. This version made a sole appearance in the story entitled "Aspects of Evil!".

In the Japanese manga "Big War" #2, the Autobots Rodimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup and Wheelie, along with their human allies Spike Witwicky and Daniel Witwicky send Computron into battle against Galvatron's new warrior combiner Abominus. The Terrorcons spit "corrosive control liquid" against Computron, taking control of him and turning him into a Decepticon. Spike luckily uses his new Exosuit to free Computron with "defense spray." Defeated, Galvatron retreats.[5]

In the Transformers Manga #5, Galvatron and his Decepticons attacked the Prime Energy Tower. Galvatron ordered the Decepticons to form Menasor, Devastator and Bruticus and attack. Rodimus Prime counted this move by ordering in Superion, Omega Supreme and Defensor. Galvatron then ordered in Predaking, knowing that Sky Lynx was elsewhere and couldn't counter them. Rodimus ordered the Omnibots to attack Predaking's legs. Tripping up the giant he fell into the other Decepticon giants, winning the day for the Autobots.[6]

Galvatron also appeared in a series of Japanese Manga comic strips set in continuity with the Headmasters series, where he attempted to destroy the Autobots with such schemes as creating his own army of Megatron clones, attempting to destroy Fortress Maximus and creating a hybrid of the original Megatron and Optimus Prime named Guiltor to destroy Rodimus Prime, although he ended up teaming up with his enemy to destroy it after it went rogue.

After Galvatron's seeming destruction in Headmasters this was all that was heard from Galvatron in the animated continuity for several years until the Battlestars: The Return of Convoy storyline (although not animated in itself, consisting of one chapter of manga and a selection of magazine spreads, it continues the storyline of the animated series). Buried and deactivated beneath the ice, Galvatron was recovered by the evil entity, Dark Nova, and reformatted into Super Megatron, going on to battle Star Convoy (a similarly reborn Optimus Prime). A common myth among some Transformers fans is that Super Megatron is an independent entity created by Dark Nova, who seeks out Galvatron and kills him, instead of being created from his remains.

Galvatron would also appear in Blackthorne comics' short-lived Transformers title. He was the leader of the Decepticons in a universe that bore many similarities to season three of the original series, and featured many of the same characters. He would be at the forefront of many schemes, including trying to capture a group of creatures who produced energon naturally (unaware they were working for the Quintessons), attacking a space station, building the "Nullification Cannon" and battling the robotic criminals, the Destructons. Galvatron was also shown as having to contend with several takeover attempts by Scorponok and even his own "pet" Ratbat. The series stopped after just three issues, so any further tales of this Galvatron will go untold.

Note: In the color cover art Galvatron was presented in toy accurate grey colors, not his animation purple.

In the 21st century release of new Transformers comics by Dreamwave Productions, the original Galvatron put in an appearance not within the pages of the reimagined title based on the original series, but in the concluding storyline of its sister title, Transformers: Armada. In this world, the incarnation of Galvatron that appeared (in his original animated series color scheme) was the herald of Unicron, from a different dimension, sent to cause destruction prior to Unicron's arrival alongside his fellow heralds, Scourge, Dirge, Thunderwing and Bludgeon (all characters from the original universe, though their names are not mentioned and are not the versions in the other Dreamwave comic).

After defeating Starscream in an attempt to capture the Mini-ConOver-Run, and the Mini-Con Matrix he held, Galvatron attacked the Autobot base - only to find that the Armada universe's incarnation of Megatron and his Decepticons had already done the deed. Consequently, Megatron and Galvatron engaged in a colossal battle, with Galvatron clearly possessing the upper hand. Overwhelmed, Megatron was about to be destroyed when the Air Defense Team Mini-Cons arrived and, judging Galvatron to be the greater threat, combined into the Star Saber for Megatron to wield. Transformed into the Dark Saber in Megatron's grip, the extra power it gave him allowed Megatron to easily slay Galvatron. The remaining heralds were eradicated in an explosion caused by Jetfire on Cybertron.

Galvatron received a biography page in the Dreamwave comics More Than Meets The Eye series, where it was not mentioned if he was formerly Megatron. While it is generally assumed by fans that Megatron would become Galvatron in this series, the incarnations of Scourge and Cyclonus who did appear in Dreamwave's series were original characters created by Unicron and not recreated Decepticons from the series, so it's not certain how Galvatron would have come to be in this series.

Galvatron would play a small but important role in the Kiss Players storyline. After he was hurled out of Unicron's body by Rodimus Prime he tumbled through space until he impacted in Tokyo on Earth, devastating much of it. This had major repercussions as it damaged relations between Earth and the Autobots, leading to the formation of the Earth Defense Command to expel Transformers from Earth. This was only the start of their problems, as Galvatron's comatose body continued to release his Unicron-corrupted cells into the atmosphere, where they merged with various local life-forms to create The Legion.

Galvatron hails from Cybertron's Golden Age, where he was one of Nova Prime's closest friends and advisors. He later served on the first Ark, part of Prime's dream of expanding Cybertronian domination throughout the cosmos. However, Galvatron and the crew were lost when he plunged the ship into the mysterious anomaly in the Benzuli Expanse, a selfish act that killed the rest of the crew. Undead, Galvatron became the herald for Nova, now known as Nemesis Prime, ruler of the Dead Universe. As the only member of the crew who could survive the living universe for any length of time, he was sent to secure the inactive Thunderwing and to prevent any interference with their plans for Earth. Ultimately, however, he betrayed Nemesis Prime's plans for expansion, shooting him in the back to obtain the Heart of Darkness, which Optimus Prime let him have - along with a dip in a solar pool. Revelation Years later, he emerged, remade by the Darkness and raising an army to defeat the Dead Universe's controlling intelligence, D-Void, Heart of Darkness until discovering he was actually doing D-Void's bidding at his last, just after infecting Vector Sigma with the Heart of Darkness revealed to be its' version of the Matrix of Leadership. As he finally died for real, Optimus Prime was forced to sacrifice the Matrix to undo his deluded acts. Chaos It turned out he was merely sent back to the Dead Universe and reunited with Nova Prime Dark Dawn and played a large role in the Dark Cybertron prophecy even after Nova's death. When Megatron defected to the Autobots, Galvatron took the opportunity to seize command of the Decepticons.

Galvatron transforms into a laser cannon emplacement and a laser pistol. He is one of the few figures from the original line with electronic lights and sound - pressing the toy's "belt buckle" or pulling the pistol mode's trigger activates a white light in its head, which illuminates his eyes in robot mode and his cannon in other modes. The light is accompanied by one of three electronic "laser blast" noises, selectable by moving a switch on the back of the figure's waist to various positions. The sounds are powered by a 9-volt battery. The toy is considerably large, especially when compared to his fellow Decepticons Cyclonus and Scourge.

Like the other new characters introduced in The Transformers: The Movie (with the exception of Ultra Magnus), Galvatron was designed for animation first, with his toy design being based on the movie's concept art. Galvatron's animation design continued to evolve past the earlier designs used for his toy, and consequently, while the toy is predominantly grey/metallic silver, in animated form, his robot mode is predominantly purple. Marvel Comics also used the earlier design, rendering Galvatron as mostly grey in their pages (although as a result of the limited color palette used in the comics, what was intended to be silver was rendered as a pale blue, except for in his Target: 2006 appearances).

Generation 1 Anime Galvatron (2005)

When the Galvatron toy was reissued in 2005, it followed a trend established by some earlier figures, and fulfilled a dream long held by many fans – a version of the toy re-decoed in the purple color scheme of the animated series. But this was not a simple color swap, with different paint applications and stickers made specially for the toy to recreate the animated appearance as best as possible. A new, snarling face sculpt was created, and the toy came packaged with a die-cast metal Matrix accessory. His electronics—now powered by two AAA batteries—were also completely altered. The LED was switched to red and his sounds were brand-new—the first setting became a single laser blast, the second was the classic transforming sound effect, and the third was one of five sound bites from the Japanese version of the film.

Titanium 3 inch Galvatron (2007)

Galvatron was released as a non-transformable 3-inch "Robot Master" in the Transformers: Titanium line. His boots were made of die-cast metal and his color scheme was accurate to his animation appearance.[7]

Universe Deluxe Galvatron (2008)

This Deluxe-sized toy was first displayed at the 2008 New York Toy Fair. His alternate mode is now a modern Merkava tank.[8] A real Merkava is 372 centimeters wide, while this toy is 8.5 centimeters wide, making it about 1:44 scale. With the robot standing 14 centimeters tall, the real-life robot would stand about 616 centimeters (20.21 feet) tall.

Henkei! Henkei! D-06 Deluxe Galvatron (2008)

The Japanese version of the Universe Deluxe figure by Takara Tomy sports chrome silver parts on the tank turret.[9]

Henkei! Henkei! D-06 Deluxe Lucky Draw Galvatron (2009)

A remold of the Henkei figure completely in gold chrome, limited to five units in TV Magazine's lucky draw campaign.[10]

Universe Challenge at Cybertron Deluxe Galvatron (2010)

An Asian market exclusive gift set featuring G1-accurate redecos of Universe Deluxe Galvatron, Cyclonus with Nightstick, and Rodimus.[11] Rumors of the set being released in the U.S. as a Target exclusive[12] were debunked by Hasbro.[13]

United Decepticon Set Deluxe Clear Galvatron (2011)

An eHobby Japan exclusive clear purple remold of Universe Deluxe Galvatron, as part of a Decepticon three-pack with Cyclonus and Scourge.

The U.K. Time Wars story arc is notable in that it contradicts the continuity of the U.S. comic which would unfold later. In events as they were told later in the U.K. comic, to explain Megatron's presence on Earth (U.K.) at the same time as being in a semiconscious state on Cybertron (U.S.), the "Two Megatrons" story was created. This meant the Galvatron in Time Wars fought alongside Megatron's clone. Galvatron had remembered these events as he had witnessed them through the eyes of the clone, implying that he was not created from the "real" Megatron after all.

Galvatron's time-travelling and the spacetime rift which results causes alterations to the timelines. The original future is replaced by a new timeline in which Galvatron never time jumped and would go on instead to defeat the Autobots and conquer Earth. This Galvatron is commonly referred to as Galvatron II. The events in "Time Wars" had altered the timeline sufficiently that the Transformers: The Movie events would no longer transpire in the comic book universe.

Seeking a "worthy" herald, Unicron reached forward in time, to yet another alternate future. In that timeline, Unicron had succeeded in consuming Cybertron, and the Decepticons, led by Galvatron, now dominated much of Earth. Unicron's agents, Hook, Line and Sinker, forcibly escorted Galvatron back to 1990, where he was dispatched to Cybertron by Unicron to sow destruction as a portent of his coming, but Galvatron had his own agenda. Having had enough of enforced servitude, he captured Emirate Xaaron, whom he forced to awaken the Transformers' deity, Primus. Primus then transported all the Transformers to Cybertron, in preparation for the battle against Unicron - just as Galvatron had hoped. However, they were crippled with fear, forcing Galvatron to initiate the attack on Unicron himself. Galvatron's attack inspired the combined Transformer army to fight with everything they had. While they battled - and ultimately defeated - Unicron, Galvatron stole away and secreted himself aboard the Ark, which was stolen by Starscream and Shockwave.

The original Megatron was also aboard the Ark in stasis, and when he awoke, he and Galvatron clashed and madness rose in Galvatron - a lingering kernel of insanity left over from his time as Megatron, that ate away at his mind from within, driving him into a blood-red rage. With Megatron at his mercy, Galvatron regained control of himself, realising that if he killed Megatron, Galvatron might never be created. Saving a weakened Megatron from Shockwave, Galvatron and Megatron joined forces. Autobot medic Ratchet subsequently crashed the Ark, but Galvatron survived, now apparently driven completely insane by the crash, and wound up in a battle with Fortress Maximus, who defeated the mad Transformer and buried him in ice.

In a storyline titled "Perchance to Dream...", he entered The Ark and scanned the dreams of several of the inactive Transformers stored within it with a "mind bug," seeking those that would best fit his undefined purpose by searching for moments of anger and dissension in their past. Wheeljack was accidentally reawakened by the process, and brought the other scanned Autobots online to confront Galvatron, who was defeated when they subjected him to his own mind bug, and put him in stasis, where his dreams were haunted by images of Rodimus Prime. This Galvatron specifically identified himself as a different entity to Galvatron I, and while the story itself does nothing else to suggest his identity, later writings by Furman state that this is supposed to be Galvatron II. Given that this strip begins the Earthforce storyline, which takes place in a separate continuity from the ongoing events of the main U.S./U.K. storyline, it would appear that in this universe, rather than go to Cybertron, as he did in the U.S. comics, Galvatron II instead went to The Ark to carry out this mission, leading to the divergence of the timelines.

The return of Galvatron was a major plot point of the TransForce Convention exclusive story, Alignment. Set 300 years after the attack of the Swarm, in this future story Galvatron II (the U.S. comics version of the character, referred to as such in the story) defeated Megatron (seemingly at odds with his intention to actively keep Megatron alive at the end of the previous comic) and almost killed him. Taking command of the Decepticons and constructing a fleet of Warworlds, he attacked the Autobots, only to be stopped and killed by Optimus Prime, who was also fatally injured.

While Galavtron II did not exist in the Generation 1 cartoon, he would make several appearances in media related to the Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity splinter future. He appears "Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers" story pages and the "e-HOBBY" comics. In the late 1980s, soon after the activation of Metroplex, Megatron and his "new subordinate," Galvatron II, battled Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime atop the giant robot's shoulder. Magnus and Prime would later successfully defeat and apprehend Galvatron in a later battle.

When Galvatron's appearances in TV Magazine's story pages were first published, there was no "Galvatron II", and the character's presence alongside Megatron and Optimus in the pre-movie era was either a deliberate feint to keep the events of The Transformers: The Movie secret, or the result of the artists and writers legitimately not knowing he and Megatron were separate characters—which, we even fans don't know. However, decades later, the e-HOBBY release of Galvatron II included extra stickers and a modified head-sculpt to match his first story page appearance while his bio echoed the American Marvel Generation 1 comics.

Galvatron II would return to this "Primax" universe from his Primax Gamma universal stream and threaten the galaxy with a fleet of Warworlds. Within the Matrix, the soul of the fallen Matrix-bearer Ultra Magnus became aware of Galvatron's threat. Magnus reached out to Optimus Prime and used the Autobot leader's Reconfiguration Matrix to resurrect himself in a new Laser Rod body. Magnus quickly assembled a strike force to counter Galvatron.

Ultra Magnus's new Laser Rod body afforded him little advantage over Galvatron, who handily defeated and nearly killed him. But before Galvatron could finish his foe off, Optimus Prime (upgraded with new missile launchers and a heat-absorbing "Black Body" coating) intervened, destroying Galvatron's arm cannon. Although weaponless, Galvatron took the blow in stride and continued to mock Optimus Prime. Galvatron II would go on to usurp Megatron's leadership of the Decepticons, demoting his counterpart to guarding a subterranean headquarters.

Released concurrently with the 2005 reissue, this exclusive version of the figure available from online retailer eHobby featured the figure's original gray color scheme, but retained the new face sculpt and electronics of the reissue. The Matrix accessory was now chromed green, in reference to the appearance of the Matrix in the Marvel Comics series. The figure also included a set of exclusive stickers in the form of small golden electricity bolt decals which could be applied to the figure if the owner chose to do so, and which were based on a piece of early artwork of Galvatron from Japan's TV Magazine.

In Japan, the exclusive cel-animated series Beast Wars II introduced a new character by the same name. In the years that followed the end of The Great War, the factions known as the Maximals and Predacons arose to replace the Autobots and Decepticons. In this time, a Transformer called Galvatron was the leader of a group of Predacons who landed on Planet Gaia (a future version of Earth) in search of the power of the Angolmois energy to rule the universe. After many battles, he brought in his Fortress Nemesis to finish the extraction of the energy from the planet. Confronted by the Maximals Leo Prime and Leo Minor, merged as the Lion of Gaea, Galvatron was defeated, but as the Angolmois energy was sealed in capsules to prevent further use, Galvatron revived, intending to use the self-destruct device in his chest to destroy his foes. With a final blow, Lio Convoy shattered Galvatron's chest, causing a cataclysmic explosion that seemed to kill both of them off and scattered the Angolmois capsules across the galaxy.

Galvatron was a Triple Changer, using a Gaian computer to give him the most powerful forms the planet had to offer. These were an ancient drill tank and a monstrous dragon. This made Galvatron the first Predacon in the series to gain a beast mode, although his was made into a Transmetal-like form because of his tank mode. Galvatron had immense power, to such an extent he often lapsed into stasis until he managed to amass enough Angolmois Energy to be permanently active in the second half of the series.

Galvatron's lifeless shell would later be discovered in Beast Wars Neo, the follow up series to Beast Wars II. The Blendtrons, who had recovered the Angolmois energy from across the universe, infused it into Galvatron's body. The Angolmois was revealed to be Unicron's life force, and the Chaos Bringer possessed Galvatron's lifeless form for a time before taking over Cybertron itself. However, thanks to an alliance between Leo Prime, Big Convoy, Magmatron, and their forces, the monster was defeated once again.

In the course of the Beast Wars Neo sequel series, it is revealed that the Angolmois energy is actuality the life essence of Unicron himself, which his minions the Blendtrons seek to recover. The Blendtrons also recover Galvatron's lifeless shell, which was then possessed by Unicron as he attempted to transform Cybertron into his new body, only to be defeated by Maximal leader Big Convoy, aided by Leo Prime and his Maximals.

In "The Maximal Brainwashing Project" Starscream and BB were able to capture Diver and the Tasmanian Kid, brainwashing them into serving the Predacons. Meanwhile Leo Prime, Apache and Scuba were able to capture Dirge and Thrust. The shock of being damaged in capture had the side effect of making the Predacons think they were Maximals. Diver and the Kid were able to ambush the Maximals, allowing Galvatron to gain the upper hand on Lio Convoy, but the Maximals were aided by Dirge and Thrust. Furious that Lio had seemingly stolen his brainwashing idea Starscream had BB attacked the Maximals. Megastorm found the whole turn of events amusing and planned to use his main cannon to destroy all the Maximals and Predacons in the conflict, becoming the leader of the Predacons. His attack took so long to charge Diver was able to ruin it with a water geyser. The explosion was enough to shock the brainwashed Maximals back to their senses. Galvatron and the Predacons retreated with Dirge and Thrust in tow.[14]

Beast Wars Second Galvatron, Megastorm and the technorganic Predacon Waspinator appeared together in the story Wreckers: Finale Part II by the Transformers Collectors Club in 2007. During the invasion of Cybertron by the Quintessons the Predacons worked together to ambush a Quintesson contingent commanded by Overseer Vashik. Vashnik's troops were caught in a pool of molten magma and destroyed.[16]

Galvatron transforms into a dragon and a drill tank. The beast mode's wings unfold into a set of clawed pincers for the robot to wield, while his tail launches two pronged missiles disguised as a forked tip. The figure was available both individually, and in a two-pack with his opponent, Lio Convoy. On an interesting side note, the Galvatron toy was colored purple, as a homage to his G1 namesake, though for reasons unknown animators rendered him pink in the Beast Wars II anime.

This version of Galvatron (originally called Megatron and known as Gigatron/Devil Gigatron in Japan) is a ten-changer, powerful enough to transform into nine additional modes besides his robot form - twin-headed dragon, bat-gargoyle creature, race car, spaceship, a claw, a hydrofoil, a gryphon, a pterodactyl and an elephant.[17] He also has the ability to absorb energy from other lifeforms, making him an "energy vampire". Each form has its own different frightening capabilities, making Galvatron a very unstable and unpredictable fighter. Unlike his namesake, Megatron would often sit back from a conflict and allow his subordinates to do the dirty work, but as Galvatron he would become more active. Like his counterparts, he is arrogant, but unlike them, he also was incompetent, as most of his schemes were badly planned and badly executed.[18]

A Predacon warlord before coming to Earth, Megatron is believed to have decimated numerous planets in his quest for energy. Optimus stated that Megatron left entire planets as "lifeless barren rocks". In the pursuit of his greater agenda, Megatron began seeking the mysterious O-Parts, which led to the Orb of Sigma, in a subterranean pyramid. The orb would lead to Cerebros, the power key to the huge Autobot battle station, Fortress Maximus, who, it was revealed, he had actually come to Earth to obtain. When Megatron was buried in the ruins of the pyramid following a failed attempt to steal the orb from the Autobots, he underwent his most startling transformation of all, as the energies of the pyramid resurrected him as the vampiric Galvatron, able to enhance his own strength by draining the life energy from others, starting with the Predacon Trio. Upon arriving in Metro City, he claimed that Megatron was dead and that he was a new person, claiming to now be a Decepticon. Galvatron drained the energy of Fortress Maximus and engaged Omega Prime in a final battle at the Earth's core. Prime was able to defeat him with the gathered energy of Earth's children, courtesy of Fortress Maximus, and he was sent back to Cybertron for imprisonment. In the original Car Robots series, the character was developed as a new, unique villain character; however, the name "Megatron" was used in the US dub due to recognition, as well as maintaining ownership of the trademark. In Korea, the character has been established as being the same character as Beast Wars II Galvatron.

Like the original animated series, this TV show was very Autobot-heavy, with most characters being newly designed (bar the Spy Changers, repainted versions of Generation 2 figures, and Tow-Line and Skid-Z, repainted Machine Wars toys). The same would not be true for the less numerous Predacon side, however, as only Megatron was a new mold, with his Predacon troops being repaints of Beast Wars Transmetal 2 toys, and his Decepticons followers being redecos of the G1 Combaticons and G2 "Laser Optimus Prime" toy.

In Japan, Car Robots Gigatron has 6 modes, while Car Robots Devil Gigatron has retooling to support 10 modes. However when the line was brought to the US, RID Megatron was based on the retooled Devil Gigatron mold, but with the Gigatron paint mask, and is therefore capable of the same 10 modes as RID Galvatron. The Korean release of Beast Wars Second Galvatron was depicted as being the same character this Megatron/Gigatron (albeit with a new name "Gigatron Z", and mistaken being labeled as an Autobot.)

Galvatron, formerly Megatron, is a refined, focused general of the Decepticons. He is extremely cruel, ruthless and cunning as well as incredibly strong and intelligent. Only Optimus Prime can be compared with him in force. Megatron will stop at nothing in order to achieve his ultimate object, that is to say, to rule over all the Mini-Cons and over the entire Universe, in the end. Galvatron's power in this series was very inconsistent. He was clearly more powerful than Optimus in his first appearance, but was evenly matched with him in their final battle.

Originally Transformers: Armada, Megatron led his Decepticons to Earth in the year 2010, in pursuit of the Mini-Cons. Prime's death plunged Megatron into a deep depression, having lost his greatest opponent without the chance to finish him with his own hands. Thankfully for all concerned, the Mini-Cons were able to resurrect Optimus, restoring Megatron to his former self - but he soon went another change that allowed him to surpass all he had been, when he was among the Transformers who had their powers boosted by their Mini-Cons after being attacked by Nemesis Prime, becoming Galvatron (Megatron Super Mode in Japan) and returning to Cybertron with a renewed vigour for conquest. However, the emergence of the threat of Unicron was ignored by Galvatron, forcing his lieutenant Starscream to sacrifice himself to make his leader see the truth, and Galvatron again came to fear the end of his war in the face of Unicron's power. Having no other choice, Galavtron rallies all the Decepticons to form an alliance with Optimus and the Autobots to stop Unicron for good. Galvatron entered Unicron's body along with Optimus Prime, and was absorbed into the demi-god's body and mind, but when the Autobots' human allies freed the Mini-Cons from Unicron's thrall, Galvatron too was freed, and, believing the threat of Unicron to be over, challenged Prime to a final duel. However, the energies released in the battle reawakened Unicron, and Galvatron saw that the only way to end the circle was to destroy himself - sacrificing his life rather than live in an era of peace, Galvatron plunged himself into Unicron's maw, and in a flash, the two seemingly ceased to exist.

In Micron Legend (the Japanese version of Transformers: Armada) Megatron did not rename himself Galvatron when he received his power boost. Instead, he renames himself when he is reborn in Superlink (the Japanese version of Transformers: Energon), using the name "Galvatron" throughout the series. In the American version, on the other hand, he reverts to using the name Megatron again, changing it to Galvatron once more towards the end of the series. When Megatron successfully reanimated Unicron, the chaos-bringer's consciousness invaded Megatron's body, taking over his mind. Although Optimus Supreme was able to destroy Unicron's body, his mind lived on in Megatron, directing him to attack Cybertron and uncover a reservoir of Super Energon beneath the planet's surface. Megatron immersed himself in the powerful liquid, once again becoming the mighty Galvatron (Galvatron G in Japan) and quickly asserted control of the planet, forcing the Autobots underground with Energon gas. Using Energon Towers, Galvatron had Cybertron relocated to Alpha Q's region of space, where he once again soaked himself in Super Energon, growing to a colossal height. However, as he did so, Unicron's influence totally seized control of his mind, directing him out into space to re-merge with his Spark. Optimus Prime forced him into a battle, knowing that Galvatron's hatred of him would force his consciousness to surface again, and when it did, Prime drained Unicron's influence from Galvatron, sealing it within himself. Galvatron then intended to destroy Unicron's Spark, but wound up being possessed by it once more, and rather than fight Optimus Prime, plunged himself into the foundling sun created by Primus, igniting the star and seemingly destroying himself, rather than allow himself to be controlled by Unicron.

Ten years later, Primus's plan to imprison Unicron's spark at the heart of the sun ultimately failed, leading the star to collapse, creating a black hole which threatened the existence of Cybertron, and the rest of the universe. Escaping his confinement within the sun, Megatron (now known as Master Megatron in Japan[19]) enhanced his powers by merging his body with the remnants of Unicron's shattered form, increasing his power with the dark god's own. Guided through a spatial warp by the mysterious Soundwave to Gigantion, the Giant Planet, home of the final key, Megatron engaged the world's leader, Metroplex, in battle. Much to his surprise, however, he was utterly defeated in seconds, and Nemesis Breaker was destroyed. Consumed with rage, the power of Unicron within his armor reached out and detected the energies of the Giant Planet's Cyber Planet Key, drawing upon them and infusing Megatron's body with them. Attacking the Autobots in a dark, shadowed form, he decimated most of their forces before being confronted by Optimus Prime and completing his transformation - once again, Megatron had become Galvatron (Master Galvatron in Japan).

After taking revenge on Metroplex, Galvatron joined the race to acquire the Giant Planet key, which included a rematch with the reborn Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scattorshot. Yet again, the Autobots were able to acquire the key, but Galvatron then stole the completed Omega Lock, only to be attacked by Starscream, who battled with Galvatron for possession of the artifact. Galvatron ultimately claimed victory in the battle, with the sheer amount of energy released in the clash actually blasting Starscream into another universe. With the lock and keys now in his hands, Galvatron returned to the Black Hole, where he was eventually confronted and finally defeated by the five planet leaders regardless of his new powers that supersized himself and his troops. Having had ultimate power torn from his grasp, Galvatron contemplated giving up, but when Starscream's spirit reached out to him and goaded him into continuing his vendetta, he challenged Optimus Prime to one epic final duel. The battle was long, and eventually ended on Cybertron's moon. Galvatron almost won when he generated a massive blade of dark energy, which Prime countered with Vector Prime's sword. As the two old enemies charged towards each other in a final strike, Optimus Prime impaled Galvatron, whose body crumbled and dissolved as he met his end once and for all. In a montage sequence at the conclusion of the series, however, Galvatron's evil proved eternal, as, beyond the veil of time and space, his spark battled with that of Vector Prime.

While Megatron did not become Galvatron in the Armada or Energon Dreamwave comic storylines, Galvatron did receive a biography printed in the More than Meets the Eye: Armada Source Book.

It was while Optimus Prime was still in military academy that he first heard about Megatron. In recounting those times, Prime recalled that the rumors surrounding Megatron were positive: That he was an unbeatable warrior with an unrivaled intellect. But Megatron soon turned his abilities against the Cybertronian governments, raising the Decepticon army in a march of conquest. After Prime's first field mission, he witnessed Megatron's ruthlessness in the form of a devastated energon refinery filled with the dead and dying. Prime claimed that this experience cemented his desire to defeat Megatron at all costs.

At some point after coming to Earth, Megatron somehow gained even more power and a new paint job, rechristening himself "Galvatron". By itself, this new form was more powerful than his old body with Mini-Con enhancement. Still refusing to accept any limits, Galvatron discarded Leader-1 and sought to create the ultimate Mini-Con in his place. He began with Clench and "upgraded" him with parts extracted from other victims. Clench took to his servitude gladly, grateful for the power of his new body. This was just one example of Galvatron's increased ability to manipulate those around him to serve his own ends. Sadly for his allies, this came with an even greater disregard for anyone and anything besides his own quest for physical enhancement.

Released in the first wave of Transformers: Armada toys, Megatron was packaged with the Mini-Con Leader-1 (Barrel in Japan), who transformed into a missile truck and a laser-pistol that Megatron could wield. Packed with the largest number of action features and Mini-activated gimmicks in the entire line, Megatron featured multiple extending and flip-out platforms on his shoulders that the small robots could mount on and a ramp and claw to grab them and a "prison cell" in his legs. Plugging a Mini-Con into his turret activates a twin firing missile launcher with electronic sounds, while mounting the Mini-Con on the turrets other Powerlinx point activates machine gun noises. His left robot mode arm features a flip-out knife blade that does not require a Mini-Con to activate, and his main turret cannon fires pressure-activated missiles accompanied by electronic noises. His missiles and Leader-1 can also store in his shoulders in robot mode. Finally, Megatron features an additional transformation that involves rotating his tank turret around to the front of his robot mode; by cranking a hidden handle on his midriff, the turret spins and unleashes a stream of electronic noises, and even speech, as Megatron intones "Decepticons, attack!"

Armada Megatron is supposed to stand 22 feet 11 inches tall (698cm) according to the Armada video game, and his toy is 19cm tall (at the head). That's a scale of 1:37.

A purple, gray and maroon re-deco of Armada Megatron, Galvatron retains all the original toy's features, except it now says, "The power is mine!" This figure is called Megatron Super Mode in Japan. Galvatron is packaged with the Mini-Con, Clench, a re-deco of Leader-1. American fiction treats Clench as a new character, a relative of Leader-1, whereas Japanese fiction present the character, there known as "Spark Barrel," as an upgraded version of Leader-1. Some "Bonus Pack" releases of this toy came with the Mini-Con Night Attack Team: Broadside, Fetch and Scattor as additional Mini-Cons.

In his new Energon body, Megatron transforms into a heavily armed jet-ship that can transform into "hyper mode" by pulling on the translucent green sections of his wings. He is packaged with a large electronic tank accessory, designed to resemble his original Armada body (except in black), which fires a single missile from its cannon with an electronic blast. A removable sword blade made of clear plastic is stored in Megatron's own nosecone; by inserting the rear end of the tank into the nosecone and pressing the release button, the blade snaps into a connector on the tank and is extracted. Pushing the blade (by striking another toy while playing, for example), yields a metallic clang and a flashing light that illuminates the sword. The tank can mount on the back of Megatron's jet mode, or can clip to either of his robot mode arms, with either cannon or sword pointed forward.

It is no surprise that this figure was known as "Galvatron" in Japan, given that it is specifically sculpted to resemble the original 1986 animated Galvatron incarnation, with such defining features at the three-pronged helmet, hexagonal kneecaps, four-squared midriff and "belt buckle." The translucent green cannons mounted on his shoulders are designed in homage to Galvatron's arm-mounted particle cannon. In Japan, there is also a purple version of the toy known as "Galvatron G".

Energon Voyager Megatron (2004)

The Hasbro version of Energon Megatron is a "Leader" size-class figure ($40), whereas Takara released a downsized version of the toy at a cheaper price. This figure was then imported by Hasbro and released in a two-pack with the deluxe-sized Optimus Prime figure, neither available from Hasbro through any other means. The toy is essentially the same as the larger Hasbro version, albeit with a lighter, more show-accurate paint scheme and a translucent green sword blade. The electronic noises made by the tank accessory are still a cannon-firing and sword-slashing noise, but are different actual sounds.

A black and orange version of this toy was released as a Lucky Draw special in Japan.

McDonald's Energon Megatron (2004)

A simplified version of the Energon Megatron figure, available only in Europe with McDonald's Happy Meals.

Energon Galvatron (2005)

A re-deco of the Energon Megatron figure in the colors of the original Generation 1 Galvatron's cartoon appearance—purple with gray portions and black highlights. His translucent parts are now molded in orange, a call-back to the original Galvatron's orange cannon, and the tank was cast in gray plastic.

The Japanese version of the Galvatron figure, known as Galvatron G, was naturally a repaint of the smaller Megatron figure, as the larger one was not released there. Although more show-accurate, with paler colors, a blue-gray crown and a purple tank, the color scheme was generally not as popular with fans as the darker, more vibrant Hasbro figure, and the smaller Japanese Galvatron was not released in Hasbro markets.

Cybertron Leader Megatron (2005)

The original Japanese version of Transformers: Cybertron is known as Transformers: Galaxy Force and is not intended to be a follow-on from Armada and Energon (hence "Master Megatron" is not the same character as the Armada and Energon individual). Megatron is a Triple Changer, transforming into a Cybertronian race car reminiscent of the Batmobile and a jet fighter. Megatron is packaged with a unique Cyber Planet Key, which, when inserted into the slot on his back, pops up two turbine engines with an electronic powering-up noise. Inserting the key into his left shoulder pod pops out his "Death Claw" shield, which fitting into the right shoulder snaps the pod open, revealing the "Death Machine Gun," which can be removed and placed in the robot mode's hand; turning the crank on the gun spins the barrel. Megatron is also equipped with two firing missiles above his turbines, which shoot out with an electronic firing noise and a flashing LED light.

Released some time after the Japanese version of the figure, the Hasbro toy made a few adjustments to the color scheme, unifying the two shades of purple on the Japanese figure and painting in the nose. In Japan, a gold chrome edition of this toy was released as a Lucky Draw special.

Some bonus packs of Cybertron Megatron came with the Decepticon Hardtop as a bonus item.

Cybertron Burger King Megatron (2005)

A simplified version of the Cybertron Megatron figure available only at Burger King restaurants, which transforms only into jet mode. The picture on the left actually has paint applications added onto it that are not official: the legs have black added onto the vents, the fists are painted black, the wings are tipped with black, there is red added to the waist, there is a decepticon symbol added onto the chest with blue on the sides, and there is blue added to the forehead.

Cybertron Leader Galvatron (2006)

A redeco of the Cybertron Megatron figure, in the colors of the Generation 1 Megatron's animated appearance—white with red and black highlights.

Cybertron Legends Megatron (2005/2006)

A simplified version of the Megatron figure, which transforms only into car mode. Unfortunely, the wheels do not move due to the way the figure transforms. Since the figure is in legends class, it should have less paint applications than the larger leader class figure. Strangely, it has one paint application that the leader class version does not: on top of the chest in robot mode, the vents are painted red, whereas on the leader class figure, they are left unpainted. This makes the figure less show-accurate, because in the cartoon, the vents are left gray.

In 2007 a Target store exclusive value pack of four Voyager class Cybertron toy was released. It included Jetfire, Megatron, Optimus Prime and Soundwave. All identical to their original releases. Another Target exclusive contained Cybertron Optimus Prime and Megatron, along with the 2007 film versions of both characters.

The figure was later re-decoed into Galvatron.

Cybertron Jungle Planet Deluxe Megatron (2006)

Released near the end of the Cybertron line, this Deluxe-sized figure is a repaint of 10th Anniversary Beast Wars Megatron. This figure's color scheme is a homage to ArmadaPredacon. It is supposed to represent Megatron mutated by the power of the Jungle Planet Cyber Planet Key into a beast form.

This incarnation of Galvatron is not a recreated Megatron, but instead a Transformer from the Golden Age of Cybertron who is driven by a belief in having a great destiny.

In an interview, writer Simon Furman indicated that Galvatron made his first IDW Publishing appearance in The Transformers: Spotlight issue featuring Nightbeat. In the issue, Galvatron was never named or even seen in full, instead presented as a briefly glimpsed figure with his distinctive helmet design shown in shadow. Galvatron and his unnamed followers lured Nightbeat to an underground dimensional portal, which resembled a metallic sea, and captured him. They implanted him with a cerebral device and wiped his memories of the encounter, seemingly planning to use him for some unknown purpose. Several pieces of dialog suggested the portal leads to something called the "Dead Universe", which was later confirmed in his own Spotlight issue, released in July 2007.

He was one of the crew of the lost Ark-1, which had secretly been seeking out (under orders from Nova Prime[21]) an anomaly that was "a door to somewhere else... a dark mirror of the Matrix itself".[22] Galvatron deliberately flew the Ark into the anomaly to find out the answers, thus marooning the crew in the Dead Universe. In the present day, he heads for Cybertron to obtain Thunderwing's body, destroying an alien observation station on the way. On Cybertron, Galvatron killed Leadfoot and easily overpowered Hound's unit, though he left them alive as a small act of defiance against his master. He made his first appearance in the main storyline in issue 3 of The Transformers: Devastation, being sent to Earth by Nemesis Prime to stop the Reapers from destroying it too soon. He turned the Reaper leader into a dead being able to kill by touch (like himself) and left it to decimate his fellow Reapers. Caught between this and the Ore-13 charged Decepticons, the Reapers were soon annihilated, and Galvatron left with the body of Sixshot. He then reported back to Prime, who made it clear in conversation with Jhiaxus that he was not unaware of Galvatron's rebellious ambitions.[23]

Galvatron's ambitions would play out in The Transformers: Revelation. Crossing over into the real universe with Nemesis Prime and the other members of the Dead Universe, Galvatron bided his time, waiting until Cyclonus assaulted an Autobot science vessel to depart. Making his way to the Autobot penal facility on Garrus-9, Galvatron witnessed the battle between Nemesis and Optimus Prime, and observed the Darkness - the sentient force that inhabited the Dead Universe and kept them alive - try to cross over to Optimus. Seizing his chance, Galvatron gunned Nemesis down and tried to get Optimus to transfer its power to him. Optimus did so, and Galvatron used it to finally realized his destiny - as Optimus hurled him into a nearby solar pool. He was thought dead, but he had survived within the pool.

As with the Marvel version of Galvatron, he is seemingly invincible and shrugs off powerful weapons. Unlike other incarnations of the character, he appears to be able to kill and decay others by touch[24] and can even survive being shot through the head at close range by powerful weapons. In Devastation he is shown to be able to confer his touch of death onto others, turning the Reaper leader into an unwilling "giver of unlife".[25] There are hints that he is not actually alive — after surviving his head shot he responded to a cry of "He's not dead!" by thinking "Wrong", and he has referred to the others in the Dead Universe as actually being dead: "I killed them".[26] Further revelation's show that any Transformer that enters the Dead Universe unprotected and exposed to its energy is unable to die when they leave the Dead Universe. So far the only way to kill a Transformer from the Dead Universe is if another Transformer from that Universe takes their life, i.e. when Galvatron blasted Nemesis Prime, or if they are removed from the Dead Universe for a prolonged period of time.

Optimus Prime leads Bumblebee, Drift, Kup, Prowl, Ratchet and Wheeljack in Las Vegas when a Cybertronian ship crashes containing Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and an infestation of zombies from another universe. Galvatron attempts to take command of the Autobots, and after fighting them explains his mission to stop an undead infestation. Wheeljack sets up an energy shield around the city to keep the infestation contained, but it will only last for 24 hours. Kup recognizes a Decepticon named Bayonet in Galvatron's command as not being right, and she is revealed to be the extradimensional vampire Britt.[27]

Galvatron is a piloted Transformer drone created by robotics firm Kinetic Solutions Incorporated (KSI), using "transformium" - the metal Transformers are made of. However, the drone becomes possessed by Megatron who uses it as his new body, eventually accepting the name for himself. Due to being made completely of "transformium" Galvatron survives without use of a spark, rendering him nearly invincible. Unlike regular Transformers, he can disperse like sand and reassemble himself which also helps protect him from battle damage.

Galvatron appears in Transformers: Age of Extinction. Created by KSI using metal extracted from Megatron's severed head, Galvatron is originally intended by CEO Joshua Joyce to resemble Optimus Prime. However, it later revealed that Megatron's mind is still alive, secretly influencing the creation of Galvatron and other human-made Transformers with KSI's resources. Megatron thus gains a new body for himself - and an army of dozens of drones. While being manufactured at KSI, Galvatron learns of Harold Attinger's deal with Lockdown to obtain the Creators' cyberforming "Seed" in exchange for Attinger's help in hunting down Optimus Prime. Galvatron silently plots to take the Seed from KSI and use it for himself once Lockdown left.

Maintaining his facade as a drone, Galvatron is sent after Optimus after his raid on KSI HQ in Chicago. Though Galvatron proves effective in combat against Optimus, Galvatron seems unresponsive to control as he smashes civilian cars and "misguidedly" fires rockets. While fighting him, Optimus initially dismisses Galvatron as a soulless drone, but when Galvatron retorts that it leaves him fearless, a shocked Optimus realizes that Galvatron is Megatron in a new body. Before the battle can conclude, Lockdown arrives and injures Optimus, and Galvatron is withdrawn by KSI. Joshua is shaken by the fact Galvatron spoke and orders the engineers to inspect Galvatron once returned to the laboratory.

Galvatron, the other prototypes, and the Seed are all transferred to KSI's Beijing facility, where Galvatron activates on his own and infects all the other KSI drones to do his bidding, turning them into new Decepticons. Galvatron orders them all to find the Seed and to detonate it in the largest city. Following it to Hong Kong, they begin searching, but the Autobots arrive in a stolen ship in which Galvatron orders to be shot down, leaving only Hound and Bumblebee to fight Galvatron's army. With the leadership of Optimus Prime, he manages to get the support of the Dinobots/Legendary Knights to destroy the KSI drones/Decepticons together before killing Lockdown, Attinger and his right-hand Savoy allowing Galvatron to retreat but vows that he will meet Optimus again one day and declares that he is reborn. It is speculated that he escapes by hijacking Lockdown's ship.

In the game Autobot Stronghold the Autobots must keep the Decepticons from reaching their "LG Stronghold". The Decepticons battle the Autobots through multiple waves. By collecting the sparks of defeated enemies, the player can purchase LG technology in which to upgrade their offensive capabilities as well as buy duplicate versions of themselves to aid in combat. Galvatron units appear later to the game and are much harder than previous opponents.

Galvatron appears as a boss in some missions in Transformers Age of Extinction Mobile Game.

Megatron in Transformers Animated would not become Galvatron in this series, remaining Megatron for a full three seasons, however Galvatron would be referenced several times by Cyclonus, a Decepticon who claims to be from a possible future.

This is one of the first series to not have Megatron become Galvatron, except Beast Wars where Megatron is actually a successor to G1 Megatron/Galvatron. However, a new character named Cyclonus appears in the episode Transwarped, which depicts him as being a Decepticon from a possible future where a being named Galvatron exists.

In The All-Spark Almanac it is shown that Cyclonus arrives at the end of the Great War looking for a being called Galvatron, someone he claimed he had done something and wanted his forgiveness. When he found Megatron, he joined the Decepticons and was put under Strika's command. In the possible Animated future, if Cyclonus is to be believed, Megatron will become Galvatron and kill Oil Slick for defying him.

This Megatron, later called Galvatron, is a heroic mirror image of the usual Megatron character from the BotCon exclusive "Shattered Glass" comic, in which the Decepticons are on the side of good and the Autobots on the side of evil. Megatron transforms into a Cybertronian jet. He has a drone partner named Rumbler, who can act as a cannon for Megatron or form a neutronic blade weapon.

After nearly being killed in an assassination attempt Megatron was rebuilt by Nexus Prime into Galvatron.

According to his Tech Specs Megatron was once a young mathematician who lectured at one of Cybertron's most prestigious universities.

In the Fun Publications story "Shattered Glass" Megatron recruits the Autobot Cliffjumper from an alternate reality to aid him against the Autobots of his world. He later leads an attack on the Autobot's Ark launch site.[29]

Megatron appears in the fiction Dungeons & Dinobots, a text based story. He defends the Arch-Ayr fuel dump from an Autobot attack. He later sends several of his troops to capture and reprogram the rogue Dinobots built by the mad Autobot scientist Wheeljack.[30]

Megatron is captured by the Autobot Targetmasters in Do Over, but was freed thanks to help by the Predacons and Whisper. When confronted by Optimus Prime he attempts to use the Autobot Targetmaster Nightstick to shoot the Autobot leader, but Nightstick takes control of Megatron's arm. Megatron then tricks Optimus into using Megatron's own weapon to cut Megatron's hand off, freeing him from Nightstick. Megatron misses the launching of the Decepticon ship Nemesis, which is taken over by Starscream to counter Autobot ship Ark.[31]

In Reunification, Megatron greets a Quintesson and the dimensional travelers Breakaway, Topspin Skyfall and Landquake after their escape from the Autobot combiner Computron. Megatron introduces the travelers to Heatwave, but then is shot by the traitor Cyclonus, who is working for Alpha Trion. The travelers try to combine their powers with Heatwave to return Megatron to life, but instead have a vision of Skyfall and are combined into Nexus Prime. Nexus Prime resurrects Megatron as Galvatron.

Megatron is a remold of Energon Voyager Megatron with the colors of Generation 1 Megatron and a new head sculpt based on a design prior to the release of the original G1 series. He came packaged with the Decepticon Mini-Con Divebomb and the Autobot Rodimus.

Timelines Voyager Galvatron (2011)

A recolor of CybertronEvac. This toy was a Botcon 2011 exclusive packaged together with Thundercracker. Only 1800 were produced, and the mold was reportedly inspired by a fan repainting a Springer toy won at Botcon 2010.

Knock Out invented a helmet that would upgrade Megatron to make him stronger, when he put it on his head, he was transformed into Galvatron. Galvatron went a destructive rampage causing Cyclonus to call the Autobots to stop him. In the end, the Autobots took his helmet off and he changed back into Megatron. But to Breakdown's horror, Knock Out starting creating more helmets for Megatron to try on.

Galvatron was an ancient Transformer, the leader of the anti-Patterner chaos cult named Random during the Age of Origins before the Quintesson Invasion. Azimuth considered him the opposite of everything she believed in and stood for.

While Megatron does not rename himself "Galvatron" in Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, which depicts Unicron reformatting Megatron into a new form which somewhat resembles the original incarnation of Galvatron as well as Unicron himself, but is never referred to as such in the movie itself. In addition, the new form is not a separate character and is controlled entirely by Unicron until he was exorcised from Megatron, allowing Megatron to control his body once more.

The following year saw the release of Transformers: The Covenant of Primus, a book detailing events in Cybertron's history. The book reveals that there was in fact a character named Galvatron that exists as a separate ancient character in this continuity, with no relation to Megatron or Unicron, a possible reference to the IDW incarnation's character.

In Transformers: The Covenant of Primus, Galvatron and his Random followers believed in the opposite of the dominant Patterner philosophy of their day. Instead of uncovering and recording the way the universe was ordered and patterned they focused on fomenting Chaos in every way possible. Most of the cult eventually perished when they used radioactive elements to try to make their own bodies more chaotic, but Galvatron apparently survived.